THE Crown Prosecution Service will decide shortly whether to charge a Premiership footballer following claims he spat at a young fan.

The incident allegedly took place at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, when it was reported to stewards that Bolton Wanderers player El-Hadji Diouf had spat in the direction of home fans when he was substituted in the league tie between the two clubs in November last year.

James Shields, an 11-year-old Boro fan, made a statement to Cleveland Police.

Last night, a Cleveland Police spokesman said: "We investigated a complaint made by this family into the alleged incident and a file has been sent to the CPS for its consideration.

"We are still waiting to hear what the CPS has decided to do."

The Senegalese international was replaced with two minutes to go by goalkeeper Kevin Poole, after Jussi Jaaskelainen was sent off for a professional foul.

The Football Association decided not to take any action over the incident after it carried out its own investigation.

Previously the 23-year-old had been fined £5,000 at Glasgow Sheriff Court for spitting at two Celtic fans during a 2003 Uefa Cup tie when playing for Liverpool at the Scottish club's Parkhead stadium. He was also given a three-match ban by the FA this season after being caught on camera spitting at Portsmouth's Arjan de Zeeuw.